1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to purification and clarification of effluents. More particularly, the present invention pertains to the recovery of mercury from mercury-containing effluent. Even more particularly, the present invention concerns the recovery and removal of elemental mercury from mercury salt-containing effluents.
2. Prior Art
As is known to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, mercury is a highly poisonous element the presence of which in water, either in an elemental or combined state, creates an environmentally hazardous situation. Yet, mercury is a highly valued commercial compound deployed in a multitude of situations, e.g. photography, production of caustic soda, clinical laboratories, etc. Thus, the disposal of spent mercury is an issue which needs to be addressed continuously in a commercial environment since spent mercury is, today, deposited in land fills or otherwise disposed of in potentially hazardous modes.
The present invention, as detailed below, provides a method for recovering elemental mercury from effluents in an efficient manner and which permits substantially total recovery therefrom.